


Echo in the Mirror

by ChromaticTritone



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Gen, World Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChromaticTritone/pseuds/ChromaticTritone
Summary: A boy escapes to another world of black & white.Based on the vocaloid song “Echo” by Crusher.
Kudos: 2





	Echo in the Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the vocaloid song “Echo” by Crusher. 
> 
> Here’s a link to the Actor’s cover of that song, which is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ3AVrCOV3g

Today, as happens every day, the boy is being bullied.

He’s been shoved to the ground, & he doesn’t move.

The bullies stand above him, looking at him with a sneer. The boy knows what he has to do now—stay on the ground, don’t move, don’t get up. Just let it happen, & then they’ll leave him alone. 

Suddenly, unexpectedly, one of the bullies kicks him in the stomach. The boy, unable to hide his reaction, winces in pain.

“C’mon. Let’s go,” one of the bullies says with another sneer.

They walk away, & the boy stays in the ground for a few more moments before getting up.

 _I wish…I didn’t have to be here. I wish things could be different, that I could be somewhere else,_ the boy thinks to himself.

Little does he know that his wish will soon be granted.

That night, the boy can’t sleep. His stomach is still aching in pain from being kicked earlier, & it doesn’t feel like that pain will go away anytime soon.

He looks at his clock. It reads 11:59pm. He sighs. _At this rate, there’s no way I’ll be getting any sleep tonight._

He blinks—

—and when he opens his eyes again, everything’s different.

The world is monochrome, a world of black & white. No color lies anywhere, only a simple monochrome palette. 

_How did I get here? Where…is “here”?_

He looks down to find he’s no longer wearing his nightgown—he’s dressed in his school uniform. And even stranger, despite being in a world of black & white, he is still in full color. _What the heck is going on…?_

Then, he hears a knock on his door.

With that, he hesitantly opens the door to his room, curious of what he’ll find on the other side.

And the opened door reveals—

—a girl.

She, unlike him, is in complete monochrome. She’s wearing a simple black skirt & a white shirt. Her skin is light gray, & her eyes are a darker shade of gray.

She looks at him with a smile. “C’mon, silly, you’re going to be late for class!”

“…Class?” he replies, confused.

She giggles. “Yeah! C’mon, let’s go!”

With that, she grabs his hand, & pulls him out the door.

Her hand is gentle, & slightly warm. Her fingers wrap around his hand, and her touch is comforting. He’s so distracted by her hand holding his that he doesn’t even ask where they’re going.

Soon, they reach a classroom. The door is open, & people, all in monochrome, are talking within.

The girl turns to him. “See? It’s almost time for class. Let’s go!”

He follows her to where his desk would normally be, & all the way there, people speak to him.

“Hey!”

“How’s it going?”

“Hope you’re having a good day!”

Hearing people actually acknowledging him at school fill his heart with joy.

The school day—night?—goes by quickly, & after class, the girls turns to him with a smile. “I know you have to go now,” she says, “but come visit me again soon, ok?”

“I’ll try,” he replies, “but I’m not exactly sure how I got here…”

She giggles. “Don’t worry—you’ll figure it out.”

With that, she takes his hand again, & walks him back to the dorm.

“Goodnight,” she says, closing the door to his dorm behind him.

With that, he goes in bed to lie down. The next time be blinks, the world is back to its normal, colorful shade. The traces of black & white are gone, replaced by a full spectrum of color. 

_Was that…a dream?_

He shakes his head. _No; it felt too real. But there’s no way that really happened…right?_

Still thinking it over, he heads to class.

Later that day, as what happens every day, the boy is being tormented.

One of the bullies shoves him to the ground

The boy falls to the ground, his face hitting a mud puddle. The mud splashes on his face, & all over his uniform. But he doesn’t complain. He doesn’t get up. He doesn’t move. He just waits for it to be over, because it’s always better that way.

Soon enough, the bullies walk away. After a few moments, the boy gets up, & goes to the bathroom to clean the mud off his face & uniform.

Later that night, he is lying in bed. He remembers that, the night before, he had entered that other world around 12am. _If I wait up long enough…will it happen again?_

With that thought in mind, he resolves to wait.

Eventually, he looks at his clock. It reads 11:59pm. He blinks…

…and in that moment, he enters another world.

The world around him fades from color to black & white. It’s as if the color was suddenly drained from the world around him, until all that was left is are monochrome shades.

Just like the previous night, there is a knock on his door.

He gets up, & opens the door to see—

—the same girl as yesterday.

She gives him a smile.

“Ready to go to class?” she says.

He smiles back. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

With that, they head to class. All the way there, they’re stopped by people saying hi to the boy, happily greeting him. It makes him feel wanted for once.

The class goes by, with a few people passing notes in class to the boy. That’s never happened to him before, & he treasures it.

After class, he walks with the girl back to his dorm, & after a moment of silence, he speaks. “I…want to stay.”

“You want to stay?” she says with a smile.

“Yeah,” he says. “I don’t care if this isn’t real—I want to stay with you.”

“Well, you know how to make a girl feel special,” she replies. Then, “If you want to stay, fight your echo in the mirror. I believe it’s sometimes called a ‘reflection’ where you’re from.”

“So, if I fight my reflection, I’ll be able to stay with you?”

She nods. “Exactly.”

He’s not much of a fighter, but he resolves to try his hardest.

The next day, he’s eating lunch alone, as always. He breathes in deeply, trying to take it all in. _Something isn’t right…_

All he knows is that once the clock strikes 12am, he’s taken to another world, a world of only black & white. 

And in this other world, the world of black & white, he has it all. A girl who likes him. A place for him in the complicated social circles of high school. More than he could have ever imagined.

He wants to stay, & leave the so-called “real world” forever.

And according to the girl, all he has to do to stay is fight his echo in the mirror.

He takes a deep breath. _I’ll do it._

With that, he checks the time. 11:59. With that, he gets up from his bed, & approaches the mirror on the other side of his room.

Suddenly, the world changes. The colors dilute themselves & begin to dull, fading away, until all that remains is a monochrome world of black & white. 

He looks at his reflection in the mirror.

In the mirror, his reflection—his echo—smiles.

“What do you want?” Echo asks.

The boy is shocked to find his reflection speaking to him—& moving on its own. He hesitates for a moment, & then, he replies.

“I want to stay in this black & white world. And I understand that to do so, I have to defeat you. So, here I am.”

“I see,” Echo says. Then, his reflection extends his hand…and it comes through the mirror.

The boy gasps.

“If you want to fight me, you’ll have to join me in here,” Echo explains. “Well?”

The boy hesitates for a moment, before taking Echo’s hand.

Echo pulls his through the mirror…and the boy goes straight through the glass.

He gasps as an alien sensation fills him, one of being pulled into a strange new place. It overwhelms his senses, & then, it passes.

With that, he’s on the other side of the mirror.

Somehow, even though he’s surrounded by only an empty blackness, he’s still able to stand on the blackness as if it’s solid ground. After taking a moment to get his bearings, the boy turns to Echo.

Then, the boy raises his fist, & moves to punch Echo in the face.

Echo doesn’t move for a moment. Then, he ducks, & the boy’s first hits nothing but air.

The boy is surprised for a moment. Then, Echo throws a punch of his own. The boy catches it, and for a moment, they’re locked together, two opposing forces trying to overpower the other.

“Arrgh!” the boy shouts, & in that moment, he overpowers Echo, pushing him back.

Echo reels backwards, clearly surprised. Then, he falls to the ground.

The boy stands over Echo, triumphant.

Echo doesn’t move from lying on the ground. “I guess…you beat me,” his echo says with a bitter smile. “When you leave the mirror, you’ll be back in the black & white world, where you’ll stay forever.”

“Good,” the boy replies. “That’s what I wanted.”

Echo nods. “Enjoy your stay,” he says. 

With that, the boy leaves the mirror…

…and finds himself back in the monochrome world.

He smiles upon seeing this. _I’m back._

He hears a knock on the door. He opens it—

—and the girl is there, a strange smile on her face.

“So, you did it. Good,” she says.

Something about her smile is unsettling the boy. Then, suddenly, she laughs.

Her laugh is loud, triumphant, arrogant. The boy looks at her in shock. “W-what?”

“I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out,” she says.

“Figure out what?”

She smiles. “We only wanted you to stay for your color,” the girl explains with another smile.

The boy stops in his tracks. “My…color?”

“Yes,” the girl says. “You’re the only colorful person in our world of black & white. If one of us can take your color from you, we can visit the world of color too. All of us have wanted that from the moment we were born,” the girl says. Then, she gives him a wicked grin. “So, give up your color now, if you please. Otherwise, I’ll have to take it from you.”

A chill runs down his spine. _What is…?_

He backs away, but the girl comes closer, ever closer.

Suddenly, someone comes from the shadows, & pushes the girl away from the boy.

The boy looks up to see—

“Echo?!” he says.

Echo looks at him. “Hello.”

“What are you doing here?”

Echo smiles. “I’m your echo,” he says. “I can’t just leave you alone.”

With that, Echo turns to the girl. “Sorry, but I’ll be protecting him from here on out,” he says. “If you want his color, you’ll have to get through me.”

With that, Echo throws a punch. But the girl is quick on her feet, & throws a punch of her own. Echo catches it, & throws the girl back. She looks momentarily shocked, before her body reels backwards, & she hits a wall, falling to the ground

Echo turns away from the girl, who is laying on the ground, not moving. She’s breathing heavily, but she doesn’t get up.

Echo turns to the boy. “Let’s go.”

With that, the boy follows Echo down the hall.

They run & run, Echo fighting the people that get in their way, & the boy thankful he has someone who can protect him.

Soon, they reach a mirror. Echo motions to the boy. “This is the only way. Go through, & you can return back to your world.”

“But what about you?!” the boy asks.

Echo smiles. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll just have to fend them off for you. Now go!”

With that, the boy leaps through the mirror—

—and finds himself back in the real world.

He’s back in his room, & it looks just like when he left. It’s a world of a colorful spectrum, & nothing has changed since he left.

He turns back to his mirror to find…

…he has no reflection.

_Echo…didn’t make it._

He silently mourns the death of the person who saved him.

Then, he heads to class.

Today, just like every day, lunch comes with its usual bullying. The boy is scared as the bullies come closer. The boy backs away.

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

Everyone is surprised by the voice. The boy turns to see…

…it’s a boy from his class. Someone he doesn’t know very well. _So why is he standing up for me…?_

“You heard me,” the new boy says. “Leave him alone, or you’ll have to answer to me.”

For a moment, the bullies only look at the new boy, holding his gaze.

Then, the bullies let the boy go, & walk away.

The new boy walks up to the boy. “Are you alright?” he asks.

The boy nods. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” the new boy replies. “Now, c’mon. Let’s go get lunch.”

With that, the boy follows the new boy back into the building.

_From today on…things are going to be different._


End file.
